Happy Thanksgiving!

Peyton had a very busy and fun Thanksgiving holiday this year! We started our Thanksgiving holiday with a tasty meal at Nana & Papa's house. The whole Sanders crew was there and we had a fun time visiting with everyone!

Here's Peyton beating up on her poor cousin Wyatt (in her cute new jumper)-

Let's play ball Uncle Clint -

Yummy, yummy Uncle Landen - I don't know what Redi Whip is but it sure is tasty!

Then on Friday Peyton & I headed to Clinton for our annual baking day with Grammy. Peyton was quite the little helper (she played with Granny while we baked and helped us taste test some of our goodies). What a fun time having all four generations there for baking day this year.

Here's Peyton learning how to get in and out of my rocking chair -

Boy, I sure do love chocolate (notice Peyton's adorable Queen of the Kitchen in Training apron :)) -

Then on Friday night we headed to the square in Clinton for the lighting ceremony, Christmas parade and a little Christmas party hosted by Grandpa's bank. Peyton of course was adorable and had a fun time at the party!
Here's Peyton & Grandpa making an ornament for the tree -

Daddy came to meet us on Saturday and Mommy & Daddy snuck out to play 9 holes of golf in the morning and then Grandpa & Daddy played some more golf on Saturday afternoon. Then on Saturday we wrapped-up our Thanksgiving activities with a yummy dinner with the Mintun clan.

Here's Grammy & Peyton (in her cute little Thanksgiving t-shirt)
Sunday was our day to catch-up at home. We even got the tree put-up and the house all decorated for Christmas. Peyton seems to like the tree and so far has pretty much left it alone - here's to hoping that she keeps being a good girl with the tree!

Peyton All Dolled-up

I don't know why but I thought Peyton looked so adorable in this outfit before going to church that I had to take a few pictures! A girl who is always on the go....

Peyton First Birthday Pics

This photo shoot was a little messy but boy was it fun!

Peyton's 1 Year Check-up

This week we had Peyton's 1-year check-up and she is doing great! She has a little bit of an ear infection but otherwise was doing great! She weighed-in at 19 lbs 2 oz (25%) and was 29 1/4" (50%) - what a growing girl!

Peyton is 1!!!

Happy Birthday Peyton!

The big day finally came, Peyton's First Birthday!! Last Friday was Peyton's first birthday and to start the celebration Mommy & Daddy went to school at snack time with tasty decorated cookies for all of Peyton's friends. Needless to say they were quite a hit! Here are a few pics from our surprise visit.

Daddy and the birthday girl at school -
Then on Saturday it was time to get ready for the big party. Grammy came up on Friday to help us get everything ready for the party - an extra set of hands was greatly appreciated! I was insistent that I make Peyton's birthday cake and I'm so glad that I did. I had a blast making them though it did take a bit longer than I expected. They turned out great if I do say so myself!


We started the party with lots of fun appetizers followed by gift opening. Peyton kept herself pretty entertained between sitting in her new Tinkerbell rocking chair, taking rides with her boyfriend Evan in her new red wagon (a big hit!), carrying around her new pajamas and playing with her balloons while Mommy opened all of her gifts! Needless to say she will be dressed very well and has lots of fun new things to play with over the next few months. Then came the fun part, CAKE! Once in her high chair Peyton hardly wanted to wait for us to sing Happy Birthday and blow out her candle - she was ready to dig in! After she was done (and everyone else enjoyed their cake), Apollo helped the birthday girl clean-up her mess! :)


What a fun party!!!!

Here's Peyton with her snazzy party hat and cakes -
The birthday girl and her proud parents -
Time to open the presents!

Load up my presents Mom!

Happy Birthday to you - Happy Birthday to you - Happy Birthday dear Peyton - Happy Birthday to you!!!!
And finally, time to dig in (and boy did she love her cake - yummy!!!!!!)

Thanks to everyone that came to celebrate Peyton's big day with us. Thank you also for your very generous gifts - Peyton is one lucky girl!!!!

Todd Family Pictures

We decided it was time for an updated picture of all of the Todd's together since the last family picture we took was at our wedding, over 7 years ago! Enjoy!

Big Week for Peyton

This past week was a big one for Peyton. On Sunday she took a bit of a spill outside and scratched up her little cheek (see picture below). I must say, she is a tough little girl! Not much ever seems to phase her! Then on Monday she started spending her days in the Raccoon Room (1 year old room) at school. Wow! She is really growing up! This was the point that it really started to hit me that she turns one next Friday - holy cow! I'm not sure how to feel about this exactly - I'm very excited that she is growing, learning and thriving in just about every way I can think of but at the same time my baby girl seems to be a thing of the past. Bedtime has transitioned to me reading a book or two with sometimes Peyton running around her room the whole time instead of sitting on my lap followed by a sip of milk, brushing teeth and then saying her prayers while she is already laying down in her crib (versus me holding her and rocking her this entire time). She is so independent which is great but a little hard on Mom at the same time. She even knows that when we say it's time for Night-Night to go over and give her Daddy a big hug and then almost always walks over to the gate downstairs, climbs both sets of stairs and walks over to her changing area to get on her nighttime diaper and PJs. What a big girl! But I digress...

Most of the week she spent her days starting out in the Cottontail room (infant room) and after breakfast heading to the Raccoon Room to learn the ropes before fully transitioning when she officially turns one. She even took her nap over there a few days this week. This may not seem like a big deal to most but in the 1 year old room they take their naps on little cots instead of in cribs. Obviously it isn't a big deal for her as she has slept well on her little cot but Mom again was the one that was quite nervous about this change! Good thing Peyton is so flexible and willing to try new things!

Then, on Wednesday, Peyton had a big surprise with Grammy & Grandpa stopping by for a visit since they had the day off. From what I've heard she had a ball showing off her new room, toys, etc. to her grandparents and they even had the chance to be entertained by Peyton and all the other kiddos at snack time (picture 10 one year olds eating yogurt... entertaining may be putting it lightly)!

Friday brought on our 7th (yes, 7th) incident report from school. Peyton fell down outside while trying to move from the playground equipment area to the grass and conked her nose pretty good on the metal piece holding all of the wood chips in - OUCH! Between her ouchy from last Sunday and her boogered up nose she almost looks like she's been to war and back!

Today we had a fun family day. After taking care of some things around the house and running Apollo to the vet this morning we headed up to the Legend's for a little shopping and a tasty lunch. It seems that no matter where we go Peyton gets a TON of compliments (even with her war wounds). What a little cutie! She did a great job hangin' out in her stroller while we shopped, though she has found if she puts her feet on the little foot rest she can almost stand up in the stroller when she gets excited - cute! Then we made her put her hood up on her jacket when we were outside since it was a little chilly but as soon as we walked into a store she reached-up and took it off herself. Guess she knows why her hood is up and figured it isn't necessary inside!

Well - below is Peyton's 11 month picture with Pooh (which was a little late - oops - but late is better than never, right?) as a treat for those that actually made it to the end of this very long post! Since Peyton is interacting and changing so fast I feel that I have so many more stories to tell!

Flu, Ear Infection and Croup - OH MY!

We have been blessed with a VERY healthy little girl. Unfortunately, everything seemed to catch-up with Peyton at one time! Tuesday afternoon daycare called and told us Peyton had a 102 degree fever and a nasty cough. With Tylenol & Motrin we were able to keep her fever down but if we were ever late with a dose her fever popped back up to 102-103. Scary! Late on Wednesday though her fever seemed to have broke and she acted as if she felt better. Thursday morning, however, she was back to not feeling so hot. Thursday afternoon we decided it was time to have her checked out and so we went to the Dr. 45 minutes later we found out that she had Flu A (most likely H1N1), the start of an ear infection and a mild case of croup. Wow - all at once, poor girl!

After a few doses of Tamiflu and Amoxil along with some extra TLC from Mom and Dad I am happy to report Saturday appears to have been a recovery day! Today we had our smiley, busy body little toddler back, YAY!!

Since Peyton wasn't feeling so hot most of the week this week I only have one pic. Here's Peyton at dinner tonight, the first time dining with her own plate! What was on the menu? Steak, peas, crescent roll and some pureed sweet potatoes and corn - yummy!

We are so thankful that Peyton is feeling better! Hopefully she can get a great night's sleep tonight and continue her recovery tomorrow!

Dancin' Peyton

Priceless...

Mmmm....yummy pear

Peyton has become such a big girl. She will still eat little bites of food but she now loves to try and eat like a big girl. At school last week she even tried her hand at eating with a spoon. Here she is digging into her pear - she thought she was pretty hot stuff eating her snack this way!

Trick or Treat

Peyton had an excellent first Halloween! Friday my group had a bring your kiddos to work trick or treating event and Peyton was of course quite the hit! Peyton headed in to work with me early in the morning, had a little breakfast at Mommy's desk and then showed her stuff around my office. Here she is with her new friend Avery getting into some boxes. They had a ball running from desk to desk to pick-out candy from everyone's pumpkins - cute, cute!
Then on Friday night we headed to the Mayberry's for some pizza and pumpkin carving. Peyton enjoyed chillin' in Evan's rocking chair during part of the festivities.
It has been YEARS since I have carved a pumpkin but we had a blast trying our hands at pumpkin carving. Here's a pic mid-project...
Everyone played their part - Marla & I carved pumpkins, Kip roasted our pumpkin seeds for a tasty treat later in the evening and Chad bounced the kiddos around to keep the entertained and their little hands away from all the sharp tools.
And here was my finished product - I was quite proud of my pumpkin! The picture of Marla's didn't turn out on my camera but hers was great! Thanks for having us over - what a fun start to Halloween weekend!
Then on Saturday we headed to Lexington for a visit with Grandma & Grandpa Todd, Nana & Papa, Uncle Clint, Aunt April, Wyatt and Whitney, Great Aunt Linda and Kelli. Everyone thought Peyton looked adorable in her Snow White costume and how could I disagree?!? Grandpa Todd even gathered up a yard full of leaves into a pile for the kids to play in. Wyatt & Whitney loved the leaves. Peyton tried her hand at playing in the leaves but had more fun watching Wyatt & Whitney jump around! It was a beautiful fall day for playing outside!
And last but not least we got Peyton all dressed up for going out. Peyton looked adorable in her Snow White costume. We visited a few houses around the neighborhood and then returned home to treat all the other kids that were coming around the neighborhood.
Peyton was so excited to greet everyone that came to the door!
We had a great Halloween!!!